Ange Postecoglou’s reign at Nottingham Forest began with a tough 3-0 defeat against former rivals Arsenal, and Ibrahim Sangare’s poor showing on Saturday afternoon may already have put his place in the Australian tactician’s team at risk.
Despite showing promise in parts of their play, Forest were forced back by the excellent Gunners early, with one of Noni Madueke’s inswinging corners finding Martin Zubimendi at the edge of the box, who hit a powerful volley past Matz Sels in the first half.
With Forest struggling to get hold of the ball, Arsenal doubled their lead one minute into the second half, when Viktor Gyokeres turned in Eberechi Eze’s pass from close range, and added their third through Zubimendi, who got on the end of Leandro Trossard’s cross with 11 minutes to play.
While Forest pressed Arsenal higher up the pitch and created a handful of promising chances, Postecoglou must have had several concerns on his Premier League return, with Sangare in particular struggling to make his presence felt against Arsenal’s well-drilled midfield.
Ibrahim Sangare Struggles Against Arsenal
Ibrahim Sangare-1
Having only been named Forest’s boss late on Tuesday, Postecoglou had little time on the training pitch with his new squad, while a host of players were away on international duty.
To no surprise, the Australian tactician went into his first game with a single change in the first XI from Forest’s last outing, with Morato starting in place of injured Ola Aina.
In the middle of the park, Postecoglou paired up Sangare with Elliot Anderson, but had little to be positive about, with the Ivory Coast international looking sluggish and struggling to maintain control in midfield.
The 27-year-old, who received a 4.5/10 rating, was hooked by Postecoglou with 17 minutes remaining for Ryan Yates, having made 43 touches, two clearances, two tackles, won two of his three duels and registered a 94% pass accuracy.
Following Sangare’s dire display, Postecoglou will surely be considering his other options in central midfield, including summer signing Douglas Luiz, who remained an unused substitute on Saturday.
The Brazilian midfielder joined Forest during the closing stages of the summer transfer window on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy, and could bring both experience and energy to Forest’s midfield.
Postecoglou will have an opportunity to reshuffle his squad on Wednesday, when Forest visit Swansea in the EFL Cup third round.